ANNUNCIATION TO THE SHEPHERDS

The scene stems from the Gospel ofSt.Luke. On the night of Christ's birth, an angel appeared to a group of shepherds who were watching their flock in Bethlehem and told them that the Savior was born. This story gave artists the opportunity to depict a nocturnal scene. In theBaroncelli ChapelatSanta Croce, Florence(1332-1338), byTaddeo Gaddi, shepherds are awakened by an angel whose bright light illuminates the nocturnal landscape. Jacopo Bassano also used the angel as the source of light in his 1555-1560Annunciation(Washington, National Gallery), an unusual rendition in that the shepherds are a family group with a woman milking a cow on the right. One of the men shields his eyes from the angel's light. In 1416, theLimbourg brothersdepicted the scene inLes Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry(fol. 48r; Chantilly, Musée Condé) with a whole chorus of musical angels appearing to the shepherds to add a celebratory mood to the event.

See alsoJean, Duc de Berry.